Here is a great Video on How Internet Entrepreneurs Should Use Social Networks from Social Media Marketing Expert Perry Belcher.
Social Networking is the new big thing in Internet Marketing. The Key is to find Social Networks where you can meet interesting people in your niche and make potential business connections or find new clients. When I was looking for a space to target my niche, women entrepreneurs of color, I couldn't find any, so I decided to create my own social network, Black Business Women Online.
With over 5,000 members I now have a place to network with other business women and generate extra income online. No only did I learn how to turn my clicks into cash, but I started a new trend among my peers. Since the creation of BBWO, hundreds of my members have gone on to create their own social networks too! Many of which have credited my site as their source of inspiration.
If you would like to learn more about creating your own social network, click here.
Here are some tips to help you become a social networking super star.
Social Networking: How to Turn Friends into Potential Customers
Social Networks can actually be an integral part of your online success if you know how to use them. Did you read my post on Making More Friends on MySpace? By creatively making the most of sites like MySpace and my own social network for women, I have been able to increase my web sales in more ways than one. Now I’m not going to waste time telling you why it is so important for you to be active on social networks, because so many people have already made that point, and made it quite well. Even I have written my share of guides on MySpace marketing and Social Networking. These spaces provide some of the best free internet marketing opportunities that you are ever going to find online, so it is worth your time and money to figure out how to use them correctly.
Let me begin by saying that successful social networkers always enter a new community with a purpose. They are not there to simply add friends or survey the scene. They are looking to covert clicks into cash, which is why each and every single one of them has a strategy. When I send out messages to friends I always make sales and I will tell you why. It has nothing to do with luck or coincidence. You have to have a social networking plan and that plan always originates from a brainstorming session in front of your notebook, not your computer. You need to write down where you want to go, how you are going to set up shop, and what you plan on doing to turn friends into readers and customers.
Your plan should be in the form of a Social Networking Checklist with the first task being to figure out which social networks have the target audience, you want to tap into. Don’t drive yourself crazy joining every new group that comes along. I personally have joined a collection of both big and small social networks, in addition to my own, because you will find the big ones have tons of people but the smaller niche-specific ones tend to have more quality readers. Create a list of your core social networks, and of course keep a few extras of personal interest, but focus on your core.
When you step onto any Social Networking Scene understand that the first thing people want to see is your personality, not your sales pitch. Web entrepreneurs are constantly being bombarded with sales pitches, sob stories, and personal requests. Don’t think yours is going to come off any differently than the rest. Most people can spot these generic emails from a mile away and they do away with them quicker than you think. Truth be told, I know of several people who send me tons of emails every week, all of which I do not open. These Webpreneurs have no clue how unsuccessful this approach actually is! Do you know if you spent your time sending out a few good posts than one generic sales pitch that you might actually make a new contact or sell to an interested customer? I’m sure this is not news to you, but it is probably a new strategy you are not implementing while desperately trying to figure out why you haven’t made one sale.
Personality is the key. How do you present your personality? It all starts with your profile page. Have an eye-catchy, professional picture. The best picture you can find because pictures truly are worth a thousand words. Post images of your products, put up your personal story, customer testimonies, and video too. If you have an RSS box use it. Plug in your blog RSS feed so that people can see what you are writing about. Unless you are promoting your song or group, don’t waste your page by filling it with music tracks or welcome glitter graphics. I am always coming across web entrepreneurs who say they aren’t getting enough traffic to their site and yet they aren’t doing anything on their page to redirect their traffic. They have no banners, no blog posts, no product images, nothing. Not one thing.
Figure out what you want to put on your page and add those things to your list. Moreover, be sure to work on the best way to present these things on your page. Another big mistake many people make is to just throw everything on their page and hope for the best. In the game of business, hoping is not an option. If you want more views for your blog, post your RSS or repost some of your best blog posts onto your network blog and remember to include a link back to your blog. If you want people to know about this great new product you have, that should be the first thing they see when they come to your page. Figure out what you want people to see and do when they get to your page and make that the focus. For those of you who read my guides regularly, you know I say this stuff all the time because the strategy doesn’t change. All you need to do is tweak it a bit to work with every unique situation.
When it comes to being successful at social networking, personality is the key. Entrepreneurs, who share
How I Got Over 4,000 People on My Social Network for Free!
personal stories, anecdotes, testimonies, and most importantly tips, are the ones that people notice. People network with people who they find are interesting, entertaining, helpful, and/or experts at what they do. People don’t go up to the quiet girl in the corner, nor do they like the loud guy in the front who thinks he can sell ice to an Eskimo, but he’s the biggest joke in the room. Point being that people gravitate towards the cool folks and walk away from the cons. You have to work at presenting yourself as genuine, trustworthy, and an expert. Expert status means so much. Most people are looking for free information, so if you can draw them in with some great advice, they might just get sold on whatever else you have to say. Talk to people by taking the time to read and respond to their posts. If you can, go a step further, buy some of their products and then post about it. Some of the most successful web entrepreneurs on my social network are the ones that not only sell their products, but buy from others. These are the ones who make new affiliates, get free promotion on other peoples pages, and tap into networking opportunities that go beyond simply being one more friend on someone else’s list.
On the topic of lists, let’s get back to your Social Networking Checklist. You need to have several great topics for discussion. It’s great to ask questions, but it’s even better if you can give other people answers. More importantly, it’s a good idea to practice writing posts in which you kill several of the following birds with one stone: write about a popular topic of interest, plug in a few of your own blog posts or website links without your post looking like a shameless plug. If you want to sell your product, I suggest writing for the people you want to sell to. Ideally you should sit down and create several posts that build up to a more sellable sales pitch. Let me explain. You can’t just walk up to someone and say, “Bam! Look at this, ain’t it great! Buy this!” Most people tend to look at you like you are crazy and walk away. Unless you can afford to pay for more aggressive advertising tactics you have to be more strategic and subtle on social networks. You might want to start off by telling people about a great event you just hosted, wonderful testimony you got from a client that touched you, a reason why you went into your particular business. You can share your life lessons and slip in your sales pitch. Tell people why your service fills a need and then direct them to your site for more information. Use your blog to promote a countdown for a promotion and then everyday add something for that count down, perhaps end it with an exclusive discount. Point being, you need to build up to selling yourself on social networks. You should even go a step further and create a group for your target audience. Though you might not be able to send out messages to the entire network, you can send out targeted messages to your group. It is worth your while to build a great group, and use it as an additional space to market.
Once you’ve thought of a great group you would like to create, or several topics you want to write about, don’t think it stops there. Successful entrepreneurs do not simply post and hope for the best. You have to be active and engaging. People aren’t going to come to you just because you put your stuff out there. This is why reaching out to people, making new friends, and responding to posts of interest is so important. You have to create a genuine dialogue with at least a few people every week. The more you talk, the more plugs you get, the more people start to look for you instead of the other way around. You want to work on creating your own position of presence, so that you always stand out in the crowd.
Social Media Marketing Tips
Now keep in mind that this process never stops. I have social networks with several thousand viewers, I have tons of MySpace friends, and steady business, but that doesn’t mean I can sit back and coast. Just like you I spend several hours a week making new friends, writing posts, and staying in the spotlight. You always have to work at social networking if you want it to work for you. You have to respond to emails in a timely fashion and send out emails that are worth sending. If you can’t write or don’t know what article marketing is all about, learn by example. Every time you come across a great post or an email with a great title, copy it down. Learn how to integrate the right words into everything you write, so that people stop and take notice of what you have to say.
Last but not least, you have to keep track of everything and set goals. Every week you should know how many new friends you want to make vs. how many you have. With a large circle of relevant friends you increase chances of reaching more people and making more sales. You need to understand which of your posts get the most feedback and results, so you can duplicate that format regularly. You even need to know your best posting days and sales days. Believe it or not, as you work at it you will find that certain times of the week generate more traffic. I myself leave my best posts for specific times of the week.
When people know your name, you know your social networking strategies are working. When you send out emails and get back responses, you know people care about your opinion. When you suggest a product or service to people and you make a sale, you have become a successful social networker! Again, the key is to create a plan and work on increasing your presence by showcasing the best of your personality. If you have specific questions about social networking or if you would like to learn more about the many ways you can improve your web skills and increase your online presence, I invite you to join my webTechgurl online courses website.
